Talking Through Your Hat

To talk nonsense or to lie. c1885. [In an interview in The World entitled "How About White Shirts", a reporter asked a New York streetcar conductor what he thought about efforts to get the conductors to wear white shirts like their counterparts in Chicago. "Dey're talkin' tru deir hats" he was quoted as replying.]

As Americans are getting more concerned about protecting themselves from the dangers of too much sun, and its contribution to too much skin cancer in our culture, they are also turning back to an old safety device that’s also a fashion statement - the hat.

There is a book - perhaps even a serious scholarly research project - waiting to be written on this rich and varied subject. People have been harvesting plants endemic to their region of the world and fashioning the derived natural material into headwear as long as there have been humankind. Today, go virtually anywhere in the world and one will find the latest iterations of this very long history of making hats from plants.

[This is a companion piece to the HAT FACTS article above entitled "Panama Montecristi Fino Letter To Customers" where I discuss the pros and cons of purchasing a fine Panama hat in an unblocked state.]

We receive many emails and phone calls asking for information about Panama hats. This letter that we send to customers who purchase a Montecristi Fino may be of use to those of you who are considering a purchase or are curious to learn more about these hats.

"Hat Hair" can be mitigated by a. short hair cuts b. lighter weight hats such as those made from fine straws like Panama, baku, and paribuntal or light, supple, thin-bodied felts c. a good fit - not too tight d. wearing a visor instead of a hat.

Bearing in mind that sunscreen does not provide complete protection, wearing an appropriate hat outdoors is an excellent way to reduce ultraviolet radiation to the face, head and neck. If children can become accustomed to wearing a hat outdoors at school, it will be a tremendous step toward the development of improved sun protection lifestyle habits.

The summer sun is shining and the weather is great. It's perfect to stay outdoors, walk around, and enjoy the long days. The perfect accessory? Hats. Judy Gordon, NBC's "Today" show fashion editor and creator of TheTrendReport.com, shares her ideas Pick up some tips, below.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with big heads may have reason to rejoice if findings by scientists in the Netherlands hold true. Individuals with larger brains may be protected from the normal decline in mental abilities that comes with age, researchers report.

Debuting in the Spring of 1938 the diminutive Doll Hat worn by adult women was controversial from its start. The New York Sunday Mirror called the doll hat "the entire gamut of female cussedness reduced and confined to a few spare inches of hat."

A Jewish lady's grandson is playing in the water, she is standing on the beach not wanting to get her feet wet, when all of a sudden, a huge wave appears from nowhere and crashes directly over the spot where the boy is wading...

The Dai women of Xishuangbanna, China: At the beginning of the world there was only a single woman and of course she could not bear a child. So, guided by the god, she married a dragon-dog and gave birth to a boy. But every time she gave birth to a baby and went out, the dog bit the baby to death. With each baby it was the same. When the last baby was born, the mother escaped to the deep forest carrying her son.

Taking care of one's hat can certainly prolong its life and well being. Be certain to look at the hat care sections at villagehatshop.com for tips on the care of your hats. This chief of the people of the Unyoro kingdom in present day Uganda has a big challenge in the area of hat care. His extraordinary hat combines feathers, animal fibers, shells, and dried plants in a complex construction which requires constant attention to maintain.

Prized by antique collectors today, hatpins were commonplace, and controversial. As women's hats grew more extravagant in the 19th century, ornamented and jeweled pins, sometimes reaching 14 inches in length, were used to hold these elaborate hats in place. In 1908, an English judge, fearing that the pins could be used as weapons in his court, ordered a group of suffragettes to remove their hatpins and hats. News of this humiliation spurred American suffragettes to wear hats and hatpins as badges of honor.

The theme of a hat warding off evil spirits comes up again and again in hat history. This example is from Haiti. This Voodoo Hat is woven of black and white straw and the contrasting colors form circular patterns on the crown and brim. There is not a straight line to be found in the patterns, and these saw-tooth lines represent the age-old running water sign.

The headpiece pictured here is the summer style worn traditionally by the Mandarin class in China. When China was an empire one the most important political posts in the land, equivalent to that of a cabinet rank in the United States, was the Minister or Rites and Ceremonies.

For at least the last two thousand years, Korean men have traditionally worn their hair in a little bun, or topknot, on the top of their heads. This topknot had social, religious and political significance. A fragile, lacquered Topknot Hat was worn to protect this hairdo.

Halston crafted a bone wool pillbox hat for Jacqueline Kennedy to wear at her husband's presidential inauguration in 1960. Not a regular hat wearer, she found the shape so flattering that it became her signature hat for years to come.

The first Spaniards in the new world,, discovering strange headgear being worn by some of the natives, took this light translucent material for vampire skin. For a people were already subjugated by these pompous invaders, it was amusing to deceive them with such stories.

In the seventeenth century, the swaggering Cavalier hat was conspicuous with broad brim either rolled or cocked and ornamented with long ostrich feathers, "weeping plumes." The crown was often encircled with a jeweled necklace or a silk band sewn with gems.

The veil, emblem of feminine modesty, submission and respect, originated not in Egypt where woman was practically man's equal and free to come and go, but in the harem of the Mesopotamian Valley, that cradle of civilization.

Of the everyday head covering worn by Europeans before the Roman occupation and beyond the boundaries of the Empire, one fascinating example may be a clue to more widespread habits, at least in the northern parts of the Continent. At Tollbund Bog near Viborg, Denmark, in 1944, the body of a man was discovered in almost perfect condition, preserved by the bog water for 2000 years. He was wearing a cap sewn from eight or nine pieces of leather with fur side inmost and conical rather than dome-shaped, crown with a band along the lower edge and a chin strap.

A ten gallon hat is often thought to be large enough to hold ten gallons of water. This is not true (unless you have an exceptionally large head). The gallon in "ten gallon hat" derives from the Spanish galón meaning braid. So a ten-gallon hat is a hat with a braiding around the brim.

Felt is a mass of wool and/or fur. It is not woven, but rather pressed and manipulated in a centuries-old process using hot water and steam to create the strongest, smoothest, lightest, most water-resistant natural fabric known. Each manufacturer of felt closely guards his exact felt making process and formula.

The fact that mummies have been found all over the world wearing hats certainly attests to the importance of headgear in virtually all human cultures. Headdress is in fact the most universally important part of costume, worn even when body apparel is dispensed with, as the appearance of the aborigines abundantly proves. Head attire in both sexes have from prehistoric times served to establish the individual’s rank or position in society, to impress the lowly and to challenge the enemy.

WARNING: THE SQUEAMISH SHOULD NOT SCROLL THROUGH THESE GRAPHIC IMAGES OF MUMMIES WEARING THEIR HATS.

The fact that mummies have been found all over the world wearing hats certainly attests to the importance of headgear in virtually all human cultures. Headdress is in fact the most universally important part of costume, worn even when body apparel is dispensed with, as the appearance of the aborigines abundantly proves. Head attire in both sexes have from prehistoric times served to establish the individual’s rank or position in society, to impress the lowly and to challenge the enemy.

WARNING: THE SQUEAMISH SHOULD NOT SCROLL THROUGH THESE GRAPHIC IMAGES OF MUMMIES WEARING THEIR HATS.

The fact that mummies have been found all over the world wearing hats certainly attests to the importance of headgear in virtually all human cultures. Headdress is in fact the most universally important part of costume, worn even when body apparel is dispensed with, as the appearance of the aborigines abundantly proves. Head attire in both sexes have from prehistoric times served to establish the individual’s rank or position in society, to impress the lowly and to challenge the enemy.

WARNING: THE SQUEAMISH SHOULD NOT SCROLL THROUGH THESE GRAPHIC IMAGES OF MUMMIES WEARING THEIR HATS.

The fact that mummies have been found all over the world wearing hats certainly attests to the importance of headgear in virtually all human cultures. Headdress is in fact the most universally important part of costume, worn even when body apparel is dispensed with, as the appearance of the aborigines abundantly proves. Head attire in both sexes have from prehistoric times served to establish the individual’s rank or position in society, to impress the lowly and to challenge the enemy.

WARNING: THE SQUEAMISH SHOULD NOT SCROLL THROUGH THESE GRAPHIC IMAGES OF MUMMIES WEARING THEIR HATS

The fact that mummies have been found all over the world wearing hats certainly attests to the importance of headgear in virtually all human cultures. Headdress is in fact the most universally important part of costume, worn even when body apparel is dispensed with, as the appearance of the aborigines abundantly proves. Head attire in both sexes have from prehistoric times served to establish the individual’s rank or position in society, to impress the lowly and to challenge the enemy.

WARNING: THE SQUEAMISH SHOULD NOT SCROLL THROUGH THESE GRAPHIC IMAGES OF MUMMIES WEARING THEIR HATS.

These hats began to be associated with the seaside as early as the 18th century, when people started going to the sea just for the fun of it. The hats not only protected the skin from the sun, they also became symbols of the outdoor life, freedom, and informality -- in short: vacation. The American straw hat industry was started by a 14-year-old girl. In 1798, Betsey Metcalfe of Providence, Rhode Island, copied an English straw bonnet she could not afford. She did it so well she received numerous commissions for fashionable straw hats and the industry was off and running.

Hatters did, indeed, go mad. They inhaled fumes from the mercury that was part of the process of making felt hats. Not recognizing the violent twitching and derangement as symptoms of a brain disorder, people made fun of affected hat makers, often treating them as drunkards.

The hat industry has not always been harmless. Regretfully, huge quantities of bird feathers were used to adorn hats in Europe and N. America as late as the early 20th Century. The vast destruction of bird life helped to bring about the organization in 1905 of the National Audubon Society.

In the early 1700s, hat making had begun to thrive in America. Britain responded with the HAT ACT of 1732, which forbade the export of beaver felt hats made in the colonies. Britain forced Americans to buy British-made goods and pay heavy taxes on them.

They keep their wearers warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and sometimes function strictly as fashion accessories. But they also come with etiquette so complex that people have to consult guides just to wear them.

In the 1990's, we were traveling in Ecuador which is famous worldwide for hats. Panama hats primarily come from Ecuador's lowlands and foothills, while, in the Andes Mountains, wool and alpaca is used to make hats in various styles as well. Virtually everyone in Ecuador wears a hat and the country takes great pride in being a world leader in headwear.